Condottieri
by matt711
Summary: 13 months after Star Fox 64. Fox and his team are called to action by General Pepper. Meanwhile, Star Wolf struggles to get back on their feet after their last defeat by Star Fox.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Star Fox**

**I hope everyones likes the story. I'm a lifelong fan of Star Fox but this is my first story. I want to thank my loving fiancee who pushed me to write this. She also has a story, called "Idiopathic", that's really good. Please Review!**

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0600 and there was no sunrise to be seen, not from the small porthole window on the Great Fox anyway. There were no songs from the morning birds, or fading lullabies of crickets. Here the only sounds came from the low electrical hum resonating from the ships lower decks, and the only light to be seen was from the florescent light strips that lined the edges of the floor and ceiling throughout the rooms of the Great Fox. Fox was laying on his bed gazing out the window to his left watching the distant stars and wondering how many he had traveled to in his adventures. The stars were one thing Fox always admired when he was a kit back on Corneria. He used to dream of traveling to each and everyone in the night sky. However, these stars were alien to him and nothing like the ones he remembered seeing back home.

Fox turned his attention away from the stars and continued to fiddle with the medal presented to him and the rest of the team by General Pepper at the award ceremony at the end of the war almost thirteen months ago. He slowly ran his finger across the cold golden surface which was engraved with a picture of Corneria on one side and an inscription on the other. "Courage, Honor, Heroism, Sacrifice," these words were etched around the outer rim of the medal. Sacrifice was the one word that Fox had been reminiscing over. He got up and walked over to his desk on the far side of the room. There on the corner next to this computer monitor was a picture of him and his family taken several years ago before the war, before his parents were taken from him, before everything. He smiled at the memory of his mother and father. That picture was taken while his family was on vacation at the beach. Fox couldn't remember the name of the resort they stayed at, but it was the first and last real vacation his family got to have without having to worry about his dad being called away on duty.

"BEEP BEEP," the alarm clock on the night stand broke Fox's concentration. Fox sighed as he shut off the alarm and put his medal back into its case before placing it in the night stand drawer. After a quick shower, Fox's stomach reminded him it was breakfast time. "Damn!" Fox said to himself as he buckled his blaster holster. He remembered it was Falco's turn to cook, and that meant only one thing.

"Well at least he set out the can opener this time." Peppy said standing next to Fox as the two stared blankly at the can of beans sitting on the kitchen counter with the opener resting on its lid.

"You know that can has been sitting there all night right?" Fox asked.

"Yep." Peppy replied.

"Should we wake him?"

Peppy rolled his eyes, "What for? So we can listen to him whine about how we don't appreciate his work?" The two were interrupted by the sound of whistling coming from the hallway.

"Good morning!" Slippy said cheerfully as he came bouncing into the kitchen. "What's for…oh." A cloud of disappointment fell over the toad as he took notice to the cold metallic can resting on the counter.

"Morning Slip," Fox greeted his friend with a half hearted smile.

"Why does he always do this?" Slippy said as he opened the fridge and began assembling the necessary ingredients to prepare an omelet.

"That bird better get his act together." Peppy said as he sat down at the kitchen table. "This behavior would never have flied at the academy." Slippy let out a slight chuckle. "I say we give him a toothbrush and make him detail every square inch of the Great Fox. Maybe then he'll start to pull his weight around here."

Fox's ears perked up as he heard the slow approach of military boots down the hall. Falco rounded the corner to the kitchen and proceeded directly to the refrigerator without so much as acknowledging that anyone else was in the room.

Slippy grinned at the sight of his disheveled teammate. The bags under Falco's eyes and his ruffled feathers were clear indications that he had been up most the night doing god knows what in that disaster zone he called a bedroom. Peppy had given Falco grief for the manner in which he kept his things before, but Falco would argue that his room was not a wasteland, but instead many creatures were living and thriving in it; thus it would be wrong to destroy their natural habitat.

"Well look who finally," Slippy was immediately cut off by a single raised index feather from Falco. The jester was abrupt and to the point. Slippy was to either wait until Falco had his morning caffeine, or die. With his other wing Falco proceeded to crack open an energy drink. He promptly chugged the neon orange contents of the can while Fox shook his head in amazement. The quick injection of caffeine and sugars gave Falco a sigh of relief. He turned to address his now very annoyed teammate.

"Ok." Falco said.

"You're unbelievable!" Slippy began. "First, you abandon you're responsibilities around the ship, and second you fail to even acknowledge the rest of us, who unlike you, weren't up half the night listening to that obnoxious screeching trash you call music. A simple hello would have been nice you know."

Falco stared blankly back at his small green friend whose face was now flushed with anger.

"Toast." He said in a lethargic voice.

"What?" Slippy replied.

"I want toast." Before Slippy had the chance to respond the stove timer signaled that his omelet was ready. He made his way over to the cabinet to retrieve some sauces.

"And another thing I…" Slippy turned from the cabinet and gasped in horror at what he saw. His face went stone cold as he observed the unopened can of beans now resting in the frying pan where his beloved breakfast used to lay. Slippy turned to the door just as Falco exited the kitchen with a now partially eaten omelet. His eye began to twitch in disgust.

"AAGGHHHH!" Slippy screamed throwing the can of beans at the doorway missing Falco entirely. "That bird! I'm going to… I'll be in the hanger!" Slippy stomped out of the room yelling to himself as he went. Fox turned his attention back to Peppy who was rubbing his forehead in agony.

"I have a headache." Peppy said.

"I think being cooped up on this ship is starting to get to them." Fox said as he joined his friend at the table.

Peppy adjusted his glasses as he addressed Fox, "Yes, I suppose we're all ready to go home. What about you? How are you holding up?" Peppy noticed that over the past month or so Fox hadn't seemed to be daring and adventure driven. He even occasionally backed down from a fight with Falco which was something that was completely unheard of.

"Huh, oh I'm fine." Fox replied as he broke eye contact and hung his head slightly.

"Oh?" Peppy wanted to inquire more, but was cut off by the ROB's voice blasting over the intercom.

"Incoming transmission from General Pepper."

"We better get to the bridge." Fox said as he stood up from his seat. Peppy nodded in agreement and together the two headed for the elevator which would take them to the upper decks. The double doors of the bridge made a slight hissing sound as they slide open. Fox and Peppy stepped inside to find Falco and Slippy were already there. The bridge had a large viewing window which stretched across three of the four walls giving a panoramic view of space. The lighting in the room gave everything a soft blue glow to it. Various monitors and control stations along with four pilot chairs were positioned strategically throughout the room. Slippy was sitting at his station monitoring the ship's diagnostics. Falco had his feet up on the radar and navigation equipment in front of his chair despite the repeated warnings from Peppy about damaging the equipment. As for Fox and Peppy, they sat at the ship's helm where they took charge of the ship's primary flight controls and weapon systems. As Fox walked toward his seat he turned to the very center of the room were ROB sat monitoring all aspects of the ships status. ROB was surrounded on all sides by a barrage of holograms and control panels. ROB was really the brains of the Great Fox, and could process more information faster than any biological being could ever hope too. He was designed to be the perfect one robot crew.

"ROB, bring up the General on the main screen." Fox ordered.

A hologram projected itself across the main segment of the viewing window with the general centered on it.

"Good to see you again General." Fox warmly yet professionally greeted his old friend and long time commanding officer from his days in the Cornerian Military.

"Hello Fox. It's good to see you as well, and Peppy how are you?"

"I'm still fighting." Peppy replied with a chuckle.

General Pepper laughed, "Glad to hear it. It's nice to see that our generation still has a thing or two to show the younger crowd."

"Well they've still got a lot of growing up to do." Peppy shot a quick glance over to Falco who brushed the comment off with a roll of his eyes.

"What can we do for you Sir?" Fox changed the subject curious about the General's reason for hailing them. The Great Fox was scheduled to dock on Corneria in three days time, meaning that there could only be one likely reason the General couldn't wait to speak with the team.

"Fox, I have an assignment for you, and I think you'll find the bounty for this one to be most satisfying."

Fox turned and gave a slight smile to his teammates. "How can we be of assistance?" Fox asked

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**Macbeth: 1200 **

The crowd cheered wildly as they waited for their newly elected governor to take the stand and give his first address since he took office two days ago. The large square courtyard located at the heart of Macbeth's capitol was filled with people crammed shoulder to shoulder waving flags and cheering in support of their new found leader. It was the first election since the government put in place by Andross to oversee that the planets resources and manufacturing capabilities were put to good use had been removed from power. Outside the square however, the scene was much different as pro Andross supporters rallied in protest of the new government. It was a tense scenario and local law enforcement was prepared for it. Police lined the streets to keep the crowd under control and every rooftop within a quarter mile radius of the square had a sniper team in place, save one.

"Greyhound unit what's our status?" A voice came over the blood soaked headset lying on the ground next to the lifeless officer that once wore it. His throat had been neatly sliced from ear to ear.

"Greyhound here, area secure, we're en route." Meanwhile the assassin had taken up position on the corner of the roof behind a virtual billboard ad for "Foster's Mining & Supply Co." The ad provided perfect cover from the other officers on adjacent roof tops, and the only indication of the gunman's presence was the small black tip of his rifle which penetrated the holographic ad by a few millimeters. Patiently he waited for his target to take center stage as he adjusted the scope of the rifle into focus.

"All units be advised Greyhound has entered the square." The gunman's ears perked up at the announcement as he took the safety off his weapon. Meanwhile inside the square, Governor Burks, a middle aged male hawk, took center stage as the anxious crowd let out a roar of excitement in anticipation for the coming speech.

"Thank you! Thank you all!" the governor began raising his hands to quiet the crowd. "Today marks a historic day for the people of Macbeth." The power meter on the rifle's scope peaked as the crosshairs turned from green to red painting a cross of death over their target. Burks continued, "I hope all of you…" The governors head whipped back as the fully energized sniper round burned a hole through his front temporal lobe. Burks was dead before he hit the ground, and instantly the crowd's excitement turned to terror and panic. Every second counted now as the gunman began disassembling his weapon and packing it back into the carrying case from which it came. Every motion he made was deliberate, every thought in his head was calm and logical. Swiftly he threw the weapon case over his left shoulder and headed for stairwell.

Three police officers wearing full body armor and armed with fully automatic plasma rifles ran up the stair case leading to the roof of the office building with their superior officer's voice screaming in their headsets as they made the fifteen story climb. The police were smart; they were convinced the shot came from this building. Wolf expected this much.

As he exited the 8th floor stairwell he carefully peered around the corner of the short hallway where the stairwell was located at the far end of the building. The burgundy colored main hallway lined with office doors on both sides was vacant aside from a few paintings and potted plants. Wolf began to make his way toward the fire escape located on the other side of the hall when the door in front of him flung open. Luckily the police officer came into the hall facing away from Wolf who instinctively grabbed the officer from behind covering his mouth with one paw. Wolf quickly drew his knife from within his sleeve and with surgical precision, thrust the weapon in between the officer's third and fourth ribs puncturing his right lung. The bulldog let out one last wheezing whimper of pain before his arms fell lifeless by his sides and the light faded from his eyes. Wolf was quick to dispose of the body in the closest office before continuing his decent from the building.

Once outside Wolf quickly ran through the back alleys of the city away from the square which had erupted into a full scale riot. As he had hoped, most of the city's police force was busy trying to contain the chaos that had broken out leaving him free to move about the back alleys with no resistance. Much like the rest of the planet, the alleys were dark and filled with left over debris from the war. The grey sky above gave an eerie tint to even the most developed parts of the city which seemed to match the industrial theme the planet had taken on by providing a considerable percentage of the Lylat system's raw metals and fossil fuels. Wolf stopped momentarily to double check his location on his wrist communicator's map.

"You're late." A voice said from behind. Wolf drew his blaster and whirled around to face his accuser. It was Panther.

"Is it done?" Wolf inquired still aiming the firearm at his team mate.

"Of course." Panther replied with his usual sense of confidence.

"Good. Let's go." The two made their way across two more city blocks to a vacant lot where their transportation lay in wait. Patrol cars and a mass of panicked people could be heard approaching their position. "Fire up the engines." Wolf demanded as the two threw off the old sheets of scrap metal and wood that was camouflaging their ship. Panther opened the back hatch and hopped into the co-pilot seat. Wolf could see that the patrol cars had just rounded the corner and were heading towards them now. He quickly kicked the last few pieces of debris away from the ships landing gear and scrambled inside.

"Preflight check is complete." Panther said as Wolf strapped himself into the pilot's chair.

"Alright, get us out of here." Wolf replied. Panther engaged the ship's lift off thrusters and slowly the old military transport began to rise up off the ground. The police cruisers came screaming up to the ship, officers with their guns already drawn began to hurry out of their cars in a feeble attempt to stop the two. Panther hit the primary ignition for the ships engines, and the transport thrust itself upward towards space and their ticket home. The officers fired a few shots from their blasters in a last ditch effort to stop them, but it was useless. The ship was climbing too high too fast to be hit by their relatively inaccurate weapons.

"We're clear. May I have the honor?" Panther asked.

"Do it." Wolf said in a low scowl. Panther pulled up the holoscreen on his wrist communicator and pressed a small red button labeled "Detonate". Within microseconds a massive explosion ripped though city hall leveling one of the oldest and most historical buildings on Macbeth, not to mention the last planetary icon for a stable government. As the two made their way toward the upper atmosphere Panther looked out the cockpit window with amusement over the site that he had just made. Smoke was rising from the heart of the city and flames were beginning to spread from the epicenter of the devastation.

"Easy money," Panther chuckled to himself as he looked over to see that Wolf was far from amused. "You know you should really take more joy in your work." Panther said sarcastically.

"Quiet!" Wolf interjected. "I'll be happy once you shut the hell up and we get off this miserable rock." Panther let a quiet growl of anger slip as he turned his attention back to the ships instrument panels. Wolf's mind on the other hand was far from being concerned over the status of the ship. The mission had been a total success and he was well aware of it. Both Panther and him had completed their objectives with little to no resistance and escaped with not so much as a scratch. Yes another political figurehead was dead and once again the Star Wolf team would collect their pay and wait for another opportunity to go kill some politian, business man, religious leader, or whoever may piss off their next employer. The truth was that be it a corrupt government official or a first grade teacher, they were all the same to Wolf. They were just another job, a job he was growing tired of doing. In all while the long flight back to Zonness annoyed him, his problem wasn't that he was displeased with the mission; it was that he didn't care about it. Wolf was growing bored.

The transport touched down on the landing pad of the old shipyard which had been converted from a beach resort by Andross during the first few weeks of the war. The ship's engines weren't even fully shut down and Wolf had already exited the ship and was making his way across the tarmac to the entrance of his make shift hideout. The air around the shipyard was dry and stale with a foul stench that rose from the planets polluted seas. The once pristine turquoise water that surrounded the white sand beaches of the planet was now a dark murky brown with a slight green tint given off from the planets now completely cloud covered sky. Even the old base commanders used to joke that if they owned Venom and Zonness; they'd rent out Zonness and live on Venom.

"Nice to see you too." Leon said standing at the entrance of the base. Wolf pushed by him snapping his teeth and growling at the confused Chameleon. Wolf walked down two flights of stairs and through a long dark hallway lighted only by the remaining emergency lights that hadn't burnt out yet. At the end of the hall Wolf made a right turn which led him into the base's hanger. The hanger was once a docking bay for submarines, but his team had discovered that their Wolfen's fit nicely through the supply bay doors located on the ceiling of the docking bay where supply cranes used to lower in supplies for the vessels moored there. As Wolf walked over the catwalk Leon had constructed spanning the length of the moon pool located at the center of the room, he scanned the two Wolfen's docked along the back wall of the makeshift hanger. Not much progress had been made on repairing the team's fighters since their last encounter with Star Fox on Venom over a year ago. Sheets of scrap metal had been welded to the wings. The ship's engines were leaking coolant and fuel from hundreds of stress fractures that plagued the fighters. The cockpit hatches were riddled with cracks, and inside most of the controls and the pilot seat were deformed and melted from the heat of the fire that consumed the ships after they crashed.

Wolf recalled ejecting from his own ship and watching it spiral into a hillside as he lay injured on the vast desert that was Venom, while Fox and his band of punk kids circled above. Wolf quickly shook the thought from his head as he left the hanger and entered the communications room of the base. Up on the main screen was a live news feed from Macbeth which showed cleanup crews beginning to sift through the rubble of city hall. Panther and Leon entered the room a few moments later.

"Pity they managed to put the fires out so quickly." Panther watched the monitor with a sinister grin. "Still, it is amusing how they continue to work so hard to rebuild their old lives like mindless drones."

Wolf ignored the comment. "Have the pirates transferred the credits Leon?"

"Yes, but I don't think you'll be pleased." Leon responded.

"And why is that?" Wolf was in no mood to play games.

"Because shortly after the credits were transferred to our account, an anonymous tip was delivered to the Cornerian Revenue Agency. They promptly terminated the transaction."

Wolf slammed his fist on the instrument panel in front of him cracking the glass display. He knew that the pirates had double crossed him. The Cornerian Revenue Agency was a watchdog organization set up to monitor all financial transactions throughout the Lylat system in an attempt to shut down black market trading. However, the Agency was extremely ineffective and their security measures were easily bypassed by even the least skilled of criminals. Wolf knew that the only way the Agency could have known about the transaction was if the pirates that had employed him to assassinate Burks alerted the Agency themselves.

"I imagine you'll also be displeased to know that all of our assets have been frozen and that any further transactions made by any of our alias will now be strictly monitored."

Panther rolled his eyes, "Nice to see that Star Wolf is still a name to be feared in the galaxy."

Wolf's good eye filled with rage as he grabbed an old radio receiver and whipped it at Panther's head. The big cat easily dodged the projectile and growled in retaliation as he motioned for his blaster.

"I have had more than enough of your God damned comments!" Wolf shouted as he approached the cat with one paw on his own blaster. "You think I don't know that we're a laughing stock? Do you think I actually enjoy living on this putrid wasteland of a planet having to ration food and water while we wait for some group of degenerate pirate scum to throw us a job and some pocket change!?"

Panther stood rigid as Wolf came within a few inches of his face. "So what should we do Caroso? What the hell are we supposed to do? Should we go kick some ass and let every being in the galaxy know that Star Wolf is an unbeatable force as we lay waste to entire pirate base camps? Because that would be one hell of job to do with two busted Wolfens, no funds, and a single god damn military transport that gets less then 22Mkm per fuel cell!" Wolf turned to the monitor displaying the news feed from Macbeth and fired off three rounds from his blaster causing the screen to erupt in an explosion of sparks.

Leon was laughing under his breath in the corner. Wolf took notice and instinctively wanted to kill them both. He probably should have killed them, but he was smart enough to keep his rage in check and remember why he needed both of them. Of course he would never admit that to them directly. Wolf walked over to the lizard who stood relaxed leaning against the doorway even as Wolf pressed the muzzle of his firearm up under Leon's chin.

"Would you like to share with everyone what you find so amusing?" His finger was itching on the trigger.

"Actually," Leon began, "I think it was quite rude of you and Panther to cut me off with your little show down before I got a chance to tell you the good news." Wolf squinted in anger and curiosity. He wasn't playing games, and fortunately neither was Leon. "I got an enticing offer while you and Panther were on your excursion from an anonymous employer."

"Go on." Wolf's curiosity peaked. He had known Leon for a long time and knew that he would not have brought this up if it truly wasn't worth pursuing in their desperate times.

"He's willing to pay, and by the sum of money he offered as a down payment to repair our ships, I'd say it is one job that's worth looking into."

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**Please review! **


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